If there was any worry that Survivor would not be renewed, those fears were buried on Wednesday. CBS officially announced that Survivor has been renewed for two more seasons to be broadcast during the 2011-2012 season marking the 23rd and 24th editions. Host Jeff Probst is also back on board after signing a new agreement. I’m certainly not taking any credit for the announcement, but it coincidentally arrived just a few hours after I sent a CBS spokesperson an e-mail asking why the show had not been renewed yet. After posting an article earlier in the week regarding Survivor‘s future, I received numerous messages from readers asking for more. So early Wednesday morning, I e-mailed CBS and inquired why we were waiting so long for an official announcement because fans were getting nervous without one. A few short hours later, I got a response that said the renewal had just been made official. This was something certainly in the works for a while, it’s just ironic when the announcement came down.

There is something extremely frustrating regarding the misrepresentation of this renewal announcement by other major media outlets. Several news sources have been reporting that Survivor is back for two more years. While this renewal does span the fall of this year and the spring season of 2012, this is not a two-year plan. It is simply for two seasons.

CBS issued a press release saying, “Survivor improved the year-ago time period by +84% in viewers, +79% in adults 18-49 and +87% in adults 25-54, while also improving upon last season’s Thursday performance by 1% in viewers and +4% in adults 25-54.” This is an interesting ratings report considering Survivor: Redemption Island posted the lowest premiere in the show’s 22-season history.

When and where the upcoming editions of Survivor will be filmed have not yet been confirmed despite reports pointing the finger at Fiji as the potential location host again.

“Survivor is a program franchise that continues to stand the test of time,” said Jennifer Bresnan, CBS Executive Vice President of alternative programming. “Each season delivers new faces, exotic places, the ultimate social experiment combined with game play, and one of the most-engaged audiences anywhere on primetime television.”